3600
by mayumi.ako
Summary: Frankenstein arrives home from a late night at work and when he enters the lab door, he sees himself sitting on the desk.
1. Timer starts now

Today was probably not going to be an ordinary day. He was awoken by a shout, only to realize that it was him that was screaming.

He never remembered his dreams. One of the first things he mastered after acquiring Dark Spear was to compartmentalize his thoughts. It was hard enough controlling it when he was awake. When he slept, there was a higher chance of it consuming him completely, so he had mastered the art of dreamless sleep.

 _Red water falling down like rain and Master kneeling in a pool of his own blood._

It was four in the afternoon and his mind still kept replaying fragments. He felt a chill go down his spine at the memory- no, the memory of a dream. _It was only a dream._

It was approaching night time now. He was so absorbed with visions all day that he had barely made a dent on his work. His case made a silent click as he packed away his papers. If he left now, he would have still have time to finish his latest experiment.

The house was suspiciously silent- _the children must not have come to visit today._ _Did they go out to play games?_ Hemade a silent probe and searched for a distinctive presence. _Ahh~ Master must be relaxing in his quarters._

With that in mind, he shrugged off his blazer and made his way downstairs. As the elevator deposited him at the basement, he distracted himself by bouncing tangents in his head. He did not even notice another figure present as he entered the lab.

Any other man would have died from shock, or at the most, gone crazy. Seeing another you would warrant that reaction, after all. But this was him and he was rarely surprised.

"I am Frankenstein," said the man sitting at his desk. "and I am you." He quickly ticked off a mental list of possible explanations. _Last time he checked, he didn't have a twin... A clone then? A prank? Someone in disguise? The possibilities seemed endless, and each one less likely than the last..._

"I don't have time to convince you," the doppelganger continued. "But I am you from the future. An hour from now you will be attacked **.** Save Master-"

"What-?" _An hour?!_

"-no matter what happens, protect him!" The other he was slowly fading.

"But who-?" Too late, the time traveler vanished.

He needed a second to compose his thoughts. _Me? From the future? Save master? An attack. In an hour. AN HOUR._ _ **SAVE MASTER!**_

Frankenstein catapulted himself out of the lab and rushed to the West wing. The door bounced off its hinges as he strode purposefully into the Master's quarters. Looking around, he expected to see a dozen Union agents crawling through the windows. He heaved a sigh of relief as his gaze stopped at the armchair in the middle of the room.

Raizel-nim, as usual, was contently nursing a cup of tea. His eyes lifted to meet his blue ones, and then his head inclined towards him in a quizzical manner.

The scientist gradually relaxed his features into an impassive mask. "It is nothing, Master," he said as he closed the door and went out of the room.

x x x

Frankenstein had just crossed the threshold of the lab when he heard the automatic doors open again. He turned around to see Tao enter, with Takeo and M-21 right behind him. They all had pale faces and their chests heaved as they struggled to steady their breathing. _He was pretty sure it would take a lot for enhanced humans to get this winded._

"What-?" he started to ask, but Tao raised a finger to interrupt him. "Do you have a twin?" he asked, finally able to get a hold of himself.

"No." Frankenstein glanced uncertainly at the other man and felt his previous anxiety peak again.

"Have you ever cloned yourself?" Tao tried again.

"Not that I remember…" _It felt strange, how they both asked the same questions_. "I take it you saw…" He gestured to the tablet he was holding, its screen projecting the disconcerting CCTV footage of him talking with… himself.

Tao nodded, his eyes slowly widening in fear. M-21, from behind vied for his attention, "It's true?" he asked.

"How about you tell me first what you think is going on?" He wondered whether they had a better grasp of current events. Personally, he was having a hard time believing that he hadn't just lost his mind and was imagining everything.

"We have exactly 52 minutes and- "Tao quickly glanced at his wrist, "22 seconds before we all die. At least that's what your twin said."

"Nobody said anything about anyone dying." _He felt nauseous, he didn't get much information from his time traveling visitor, for all he knew, everyone else_ had _died._ "And he's not my twin; he's me from the future."

"He said, 'Save Master,' It stands to reason that if HE needs saving and YOU from the future had no one else to ask for help, then it must mean everyone else from there is dead or will be."

He couldn't fault the hacker's logic, but he had a hard time accepting it. If it WAS true, then it would mean he had failed his Master. Again. The mere thought was too painful to think about.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. All we know for sure is that we will be attacked in an hour-"

"-49 minutes and 56 seconds." Tao corrected.

"It's pointless to speculate," he glared at the trio. "All we can do is to try and prepare ourselves as much as we can." Including him, there were only 4 of them at home. Karias and Rael were called back by the Lord to report. Regis, escorted by Seira, also went back for his coming-of-age ceremony, although they might be on their way back now. Only 4 to protect Master, and they didn't even know how many their enemies would be. _Too late to flee, time to lock down the house._

"Takeo, M-21, take the best positions to defend the house." _Would they be able to hold their own if ever an Elder attacked? Now was not the time for such thoughts!_

"Tao, you are on surveillance, guide them to where they should be."

"Yes, Boss!" Tao said with a salute.

"I will be remotely accessing the safe houses near our area and starting up the facilities in case they need to be used. I will also be locking down the house. Stay clear of all the doors and windows, hold them off as long as you can but if they get past you and try to enter the house, you want to be as far away as possible." He paused and looked at the three of them in turn. "I won't lie to you- I'm not sure how everything will turn out. But I want to make something clear. If… the worst happens, take Master and go. Go to one of the safe houses. They will be adequate enough and are supplied with the essentials along with food and medical care."

The trio's faces were still pale and drawn but this time they were lit with determination. Frankenstein dismissed them with a curt nod and immediately started on his own preparations.

x x x

"-stein."

He started at the sound of his name. He was single-mindedly focused on the task at hand that he did not even hear the sound of the automatic doors. Frankenstein felt a sudden trepidation as he swiveled his seat to face his Master. For who else could it be? He might not have heard the doors opening but he would always be aware of that unmistakable aura.

Putting on his best smile, he stood up to greet him. "Master," he said as with a small bow. _Was that anger he was feeling from him? Was he even capable of anger?_

"It is time for you to offer an explanation."

 _Of course he would know._ He might always seem detached, but _HE ALWAYS KNOWS_.

"Well.. I am not quite sure how to start…"

He was so preoccupied with preparations that he had failed to take this into account. _How to explain when he himself had no idea what was happening?_

"You can start by explaining the giant countdown timer in the living room."

". . ."

He wasn't surprised. In another time, he would even be amused that Tao could think of something like this in such a dire situation. 

"I do not like being lied to or being kept uninformed, especially when it concerns me the most." Crimson eyes flashed and he was pretty sure he would be burned to ashes on the spot should his Master be so inclined. Inadvertently, he flinched at the implied accusation. It was never his intention to keep his Master in the dark.

"I have just received some...unsettling news." It was best to just state the facts. "I- another Frankenstein from the future has ordered me to save you. There will be an attack in…roughly half an hour. We don't know who or how many they will be but I have grounds to assume that at least one Elder will be involved, if not more." _There will definitely be MORE,_ but he didn't say that.

"With your current strength, it would be best if you leave this matter to us."

The Noblesse stared at him for a moment, weighing the matter at hand. "I do not wish to hide myself and let you risk your lives for me."

"Please, my Lord." He begged. _It seems I have failed you once already, even if I do not have any memory of it. I will not let it happen this time around._ He knew that he could not really demand anything of him, only his desperation drove him to ask. 820 years he was alone, he couldn't- will not go through that a second time.

"As you wish." He said with a sigh. "Frankenstein, I will allow you to release the bonds that seal your power."

"Yes, Master."

x x x

He had been in many battles in his long lifetime- some he had personally instigated, some were just unavoidable. And they were all spur of the moment, attack or be attacked. Nothing like this.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. 5 minutes 36 seconds._

He stood in the living room, watching the numbers slowly count down to zero. The waiting was torture. Too much time to think. _Where would they attack? How many? Would they stand a chance?_

"Do not worry," his Master cut into his internal monologue.

 _How can he not worry when his Master was in danger? He had not yet recovered from their last battle, and now yet another one was imminent. He must make sure that he does not use his powers again._

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. 1 minute 17 seconds._

 _He wondered whether they would attack exactly when the numbers reach zero._

Raizel-nim placed his cup back on its saucer and the soft clink of china on china was loud in the silent room. His crimson eyes were suddenly alert, fixated on something beyond the window.

 _There_! He felt something fast approaching. "Tao!" he shouted a warning into his communication device. But before he could utter another word, a loud explosion rocked the house. The ground trembled with aftershocks and dust rained from the ceiling.

"Master, are you alright?" His body had moved automatically to shield him. He straightened up and quickly scanned for any injuries.

"I am fine."

He let out a breath of relief. Seems like the house also did not take any serious damage- he hoped he could say the same of the lawn. Sirens blared from the distance but he couldn't hear any sounds of battle from outside. They must have attacked the house directly.

"Tao, report."

"They sent a missile," came the reply. " I've mapped the trajectory, and it seems to have come from..." A series of tapping noises could be heard. "District 15. The house remains intact, but the surrounding grounds have taken collateral damage. Shield is currently at 62%- we can probably survive another direct attack.

"Takeo has reported several humans wounded by flying debris. Estimated arrival of medical team- 12 minutes. M-21 did not encounter any direct assault. End of report."

"What do you think is the best course of action?"

"They already have prior knowledge of our location, so it's no guarantee that if we leave they will stop. But if we counter attack, they will surely retaliate and this area will become a warzone." Tao let out a huff of frustration. "I'm trying to hack into their system, but they have seriously upgraded since last I checked. It will take me maybe 15 minutes."

He could've sworn he heard laughter before Tao signed off.

Not even 15 minutes later, Tao buzzed in his ear. "Boss, we have a prob-"

He didn't get to hear the end of the sentence as the world was suddenly plunged into darkness. He guessed that it probably wasn't a normal blackout since even their transmitters went dead. _10 minutes till the emergency system kicks in._

"Boss!" A voice whispered in the dark. Muffled footsteps echoed loudly as Tao made his way towards them. "Shieldsaredown! Andcommunications!" He was clearly panicking as his words jumbled together incoherently.

Frankenstein turned to his Master who had a worried expression on his face. He was looking outside the window again and his brows were furrowed in consternation. _Please don't let be another missile!_ With the shield down, they would probably survive but nothing would be left of this area.

"Let's go-" he started to say when they heard a loud crack split the air. A hand lifted into the air and Raizel-nim shielded them before the wall exploded and a body came flying into the room.

"Takeo!" Tao cried as he scrambled towards his comrade and tried to rearranged his body into a more comfortable position.. A shaft of moonlight made its way through the crack on the wall, illuminating the fallen body. Takeo's eyes fluttered open and he blinked a couple of times, looking a little disoriented.

"M-21!" Takeo abruptly sat up. "I'm sorry! He took M-21 and it's my fault." His eyes became wild and he clutched at Tao's shirt begging for forgiveness.

"What happened?" Frankenstein asked.

"I didn't see him coming." Takeo confessed in a whisper. "He threw something at us- like a bomb, but it let out an electrical charge instead. M-21 immediately collapsed, I didn't but I felt really strange and drowsy."

"Who was it?" Frankenstein asked. _Who has taken my child?_

"Crombell."

XXX

 _A/N:_ _Hello! This was supposed to be a really short time travel fic, inspired by a prompt I saw in pinterest. But It kinda snowballed? And instead of the ONE chapter with 7k words I was aiming for, it kind of became twice as long so I'm chopping it up into a few chapters. :)_

 _This fic has a life of its own, I had a start and end and then it made its own story by itself. I didn't even know that M-21 was gonna get kidnapped till that last paragraph. hahha. Hope you like it! Please leave a review or just a 'hi' will really make me happy!_


	2. Close encounters ofthe experimental kind

A part of the generator system had suffered damage during the attack and it took 30 more minutes for power to be restored to the sub-basement. Good thing that he had built several basement levels underneath the house. He would have to upgrade the system to ensure that such an event could be prevented in the future.

Takeo had lost consciousness soon after their conversation. Frankenstein had rushed to examine him for any injuries. There wasn't any lasting damage and he couldn't find any obvious reason why his body had shut down in the first place.

"Modified humans aren't affected by bio-weapons," explained Tao. "So it couldn't have been a sleeping gas of some sort. Our bodies can aren't affected by human diseases either."

"He mentioned being attacked by an electric blast." Frankenstein mused. "If it was made by Crombell, it might be something that affects modified humans. Since Takeo was not automatically affected, more likely, it might have been tailored for the M-series, or even M-21 himself."

Tao looked disgusted at the idea. "I thought we had left them all behind us but it looks as if we are still just a property of the Union." Said Tao, his fist clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I don't like it that they still have this hold on us."

It looked like Takeo wasn't going to wake up anytime soon so Frankenstein decided to just leave him in the ward. _He will be safer down here_. His vitals seemed normal except for the fact that his body was forcefully shut down. As it was, they were already short on time to do anything else.

The elevators hissed open to reveal two familiar faces. "There are several military forces stationed in the city," said one of the newcomers. "They are currently ushering humans to appointed safe houses and are administering medical care to the wounded."

"Seira. Regis." Greeted Frankenstein. Some of the tension eased from his shoulders. With them back, he would not be leaving Master alone in the house. "Are there any traces of Union agents?"

"We cannot be sure," answered Seira.

"They appear to be normal humans," said Regis.. "It looks as if they came in response to the bomb threat but they seem to be too heavily-armed to just be enforcing safety procedu- What happened?!" It was just now that he noticed the patient lying on the table.

"We have been attacked-" Frankenstein started to explain.

-they dropped a bomb on us." Tao interjected.

"A bomb?!" Regis gasped out loud. "…What is a bomb?"

The scientist just sighed and explained the situation as quickly as he could. "I need you two to stay here and protect Master and the house while we look for M-21." He looked sternly over his glasses at the silver-haired children. "I have asked him to stay hidden while we deal with the problem. I want to avoid any situation where he will be forced to use his power."

Both nodded at his orders and the house-owner proceeded with giving them some last minute instructions.

"The shields are up again, but I doubt they would send another missile. I am guessing that it was meant to be a warning. You should be safe enough down here, at any case." Tao handed out some transmitters. "You can't communicate with this- the signals are still down ever since that sonic blast. But just in case it might go up again, you can use this to contact us then."

"Right now, Master has ordered me to get M-21 back, so it is our top priority." Frankenstein nodded to the young nobles as he and Tao went to find their lost comrade.

Xxx

Tao tracked M-21 to an abandoned area in District 31. It was full of warehouses in several stages of disuse. One had no roof at all.

"I don't think there are any guards here, and this isn't listed as a Union building." said Tao. A succession of typing sounds could be heard as he hacked into the servers in the area. "Good thing the reception here is stable. Signal is transmitting from-" he zoomed in to a feed of a decrepit looking building. Funnily enough, it look to be sturdiest of all the others. "Warehouse 4-A. Sub-level basement-6. I don't see any way to break in, except by walking through the front door and-"

Tao leaped just in time before the tree he was perched on blew up.

"I don't think it's polite to come into someone's property. It's rude. Right, brother?" A small girl emerged from the shadows. Her hair shone white in the moonlight and her eyes were the same milky color.

"What did Father say about intruders, sister?" Another figure stepped from behind her. He looked exactly like the girl except his white hair was streaked with brown.

"Kill them." She smiled at him. Tao was unsure whether she was blind or not. She had no pupils but her gaze followed him as he stood up to dust himself off.

"Tao?" he heard the Boss' voice in his ear. "I heard an explosion."

"Just a welcoming committee," He laughed."They're not very welcoming, though."

"Can you handle it?" He could hear the wind whistling in the background. He was probably on the move.

"I'll take care of it, Boss. You go get our short-tempered friend."

"Alright. I'll go ahead."

The line went dead as Tao dropped the transmitter on the ground. Simultaneously, he threw some smoke bombs at the twins and leaped away to find some cover.

Tao crouched behind some garbage bins in a dark alley. _Good thing I managed to squeeze in a few tricks._ He heard the proximit _y s_ ensors activate like little footsteps in his earpiece. They had wasted no time in looking for him. Tao tapped several buttons on his tablet and explosions rocked the ground not far from him. He wasn't built for combat so he took this opportunity to escape into one of the abandoned warehouses.

The building was pitch black. He couldn't risk opening his screen for fear that the light would give away his position. He wasn't able to install any cameras but he had scattered several sensors along the area. It would have to do.

He was startled when a voice suddenly hissed in his ear- "What are you doing? That almost got me." Tao jumped backwards and the wall he was previously leaning on was instantly sliced into two. _How did not pick up their approach?_

"It's no use hiding from us." The male twin leered. Tao noticed that his hand were as sharp as claws. _Physical transformation?_ _They're probably modified humans, too!_

"Wondering how we found you?" The other twin asked."I can read and control waves in the air. Sound waves, electrical signals, etc. So basically, I can also read you."

Xxx

He could hear explosive blasts from Tao's position. He would just have to trust that the hacker would be able to handle it.

The building in front had a faded number 4 painted on the door _. This was it. Should he go for stealth or speed?_ He aimed a blast on the lock and chains- it exploded, along with the door, and maybe a small part of the wall. _Speed it is!_

He contemplated between charging down the stairs or just blowing a hole 4 stories down. After a quick debate with himself- and noticing that there was a hidden elevator at the back- he eventually decided that it would be easier to just jump down from there.

He ripped the elevator doors open and glanced inside. It was a good 12 stories down. _How far down does this facility go? He promised himself he would investigate next time, right now he had to find M-21._

The elevator, stationed maybe 8 stories down, wobbled as he jumped down. He was about to jump up to the 6th level when it suddenly whirred to life. _A working elevator in an abandoned warehouse, he was definitely in the right place._ He crouched to regain his footing but before he could ricochet up, the elevator plummeted downwards.

He expected it to crash but quite the opposite- it just gently stopped at what he could only presume to be the deepest level. Whoever triggered the elevator already knew he was here. He pried open the exit door on the ceiling and promptly leaped down. It opened into a narrow corridor with sparse lighting, but he could see the walls and floors were finished in plain cement. As he made his way inwards, he could see it open up into a large space. His shoes echoed in the open area.

"Well, well.." a gravelly voice said. "We should stop meeting like this." A tall figure stepped forward from the shadows. As the light illuminated his features, he could see the sardonic smile on his face. _Crombell._

"I wasn't here to see _you_." Frankenstein matched his smirk."Where is my child?"

" _Your_ child?" the doctor scoffed. "You worked on him for a while and you call him yours? He is mine!" A large blast of energy exploded outwards and it condensed to a white shield around him.

Frankenstein charged and dark energy spilled from his fingertips. Crombell for his part, did not hesitate to rain projectiles at him.

Balls of white energy came barreling towards him. They looked like they had heat seeking properties and he couldn't pinpoint their tracjectory. He dodged as much as he could and batted away the ones he couldn't.

He retaliated with several dark spears of his own before the doctor could attack again, but they fizzled out as it hit his shield.

The ceiling rained dust as he tried flinging a dozen more bolts towards his enemy. But like before, he could see that it had no effect whatsoever on him. Crombell stood unharmed with a lopsided smirk on his face.

"You are underestimating me," he said. "Do you think I do not know how to counter my own attacks? You are just using the same power as me! "

Frankenstein leaped to the side as countless projectiles launched themselves towards him. He shielded himself and the room was filled with smoke as they all found they're target. He could hear Crombell laughing in the distance. But his laughter was suddenly cut off as the smoke cleared and he saw the blonde man unharmed.

"How can you still be standing?" asked Crombell, his eyes were wide with disbelief. "I have mastered this power."

" _You_ have mastered this power?" Frankenstein asked with a snort. He couldn't contain his amusement. "I've been holding back but I can't stay quiet anymore. That power you are wielding- I _created_ it. _Dark spear, answer my call."_

X X X

 _AN: Whew! Just finished in time. I hope you enjoy this chapter- I have no idea how to write action scenes and really struggled with this._

 _Is the pacing too fast though? Only chapter 2 and there are fight scenes already? Bringing out the big guns? Well, I DID warn you that this was going to be a short fic, so unless I get visited by more plot bunnies, it will stay short. I already know the ending, so its the middle part that is the unknown- even to me! hahahhaha_

 _I know you're dying to know where our sassy little werewolf is, but see, I don't know either, okay? Oh wait, he's in warehouse 4, sub-basement 6, didn't you read that part? XP_

 _And of course, reviews are welcome! *hint hint*_


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